Shuttle for narrow ware loom



Feb. 19, 1957 R. a. TURNER 2,781,795

SHUTTLE FOR NARRGW WARE LOQM Filed. Sept. 15-, 1954 FIG.|

INVENTOR RICHARD e. TURNER ATTORNEY Unite States Patent SHUTTLE FOR NARROW WARE LOOM Richard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 15, 1954, Serial No. 456,178

Claims. (Cl. 139-371) This invention relates to improvements in weft detectors of shuttles adaptable for use in connection with weft stop motions on narrow ware looms.

Patent No. 2,650,625 issued to Johnson shows a shuttle having a weft detector normally projecting forwardly but defiectible by the weft either to the right or the left. When the weft is intact it will bend the detector to one side as the shuttle approaches the end of its travel and prevent the detector from engaging an indicator, such for instance as an electric switch, as the lay heats up. If on the other hand the Weft breaks or becomes unduly slack the detector will assume its normal forwardly extending position and as the lay approaches front center the detector will move the switch element to effect loom stoppage. The detector shown in the Johnson patent is in the form of a coil spring and operates satisfactorily but has a comparatively short life, due partly to rusting but principally to rupture resulting from alternate bending first to one side and then to the other.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a weft detector to perform the general detecting function of the wire spring but made of a material, such as soft elastic rubber, which is more durable than a spring and will withstand many more flexings and not be subject to rusting. The detector as set forth more in detail hereinafter is in the form of a rubber tube having a thread passage therethrough for the weft of the shuttle.

It is a further object of the invention to provide the detector with internal weft engaging wear resistant means elfective to keep the thread out of contact with the softer parts of the detector. This result may be accomplished by locating in the rubber tube rings or the like which project inwardly into the thread passage far enough to space the weft from the rubber tube.

The detector is bent from its normal forward position in directions which are generally lengthwise of the shuttle and because of this fact the rings become worn on opposite sides of the thread passage. In order to take care of this wear the preferred form of the invention is so made that the detector can be readily adjusted angularly with respect to the shuttle inorder to present new surfaces of the aforesaid rings or their equivalents to the Weft. This result may be accomplished by providing the detector with a reduced neck having normally a close fit with a bore or hole in the bow of the'shuttle but extensible so that its diameter can be reduced to permit turning of the detector in the hole. After the angular adjustment has been made the neck is permitted to contract to its normal size and will again establish a close holding fit with the shuttle.

It is the further object of the invention to make the wear resisting elements within the detector separate from each other so that they will not be required to bend on themselves and will not interfere with bending of the soft elastic material of which the detector is made.

The modified form of the invention is somewhat simpler than the preferred form and employs a rubber tube the inner end of which is secured to the bow of the Patented Feb. 19, 1957 shuttle and the outer end of which is free to flex laterally. Arranged along the length ofv the tube on the inside thereof are guide means which may be in the form of one or more wear-resistant eyelets which instead of being embedded into the rubber are held in position due to the fact that their external diameter is appreciably greater than the internal diameter of the detector tube. In this modified form the inner end of the rubber tube may be held to the wood part of the shuttle by cement and a thread guide having an outside diameter somewhat greater than the bore of the tube is inserted into the latter to force it against the hole in the bow of the shuttle.

Another object of the invention, present in bothforms shown hereinafter, is to provide a detector which in all the positions it can assume relative to the shuttle presents a continuous unbroken surface which will have no opening therein into which a warp thread could move when the shuttle is passing through a warp shed.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example the two embodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a shuttle made according to the preferred form of the present invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the detector on line 2-2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3, Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner in which the preferred detector can be turned angularly with respect to the shuttle,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but shows the modified form of the invention, and

. Fig. 6 is an enlarged transverse section on 66, Fig. 5.

Referring particularly to Fig. l, the shuttle S has the usual base 10 for sliding engagement with shuttle blocks which are customarily mounted on the lay of the looms, the blocks and lay not being shown herein but being similar to those shown in the aforesaid Johnson patent. The shuttle has a how 11 which with the base 10 defines a weft compartment 12 in which a weft quill or bobbin 13 is mounted for rotation on a pin 14. The shuttle is provided with two eyelets 15 and 16 mounted on the usual springs 17 and may also have a third eyelet 18 which can slide back and forth on a wire 19 secured to the bow of the shuttle. The weft passes from the quill 13 through the various eyelets as shownin'Fig. l and then passes outwardly through a detector the preferred and modified form of which are designated generally at D and D1, respectively. The usual brake B resists rotation of the quill 13.

The matter thus far described, except the detectors, is a common construction and. may operate in theusual manner. p I 1' In carrying the preferred form of the invention into effect the detector D is made as indicated in Fig. 2 with an outer flexing detector part or member 20 and an inner support or neck part 21. The detector is made of a soft elastic material such as rubber or a synthetic rubber-like material possessing natural resilience but tending after bending to return to a normal position. The neck21 is of less outside diameter than that of the outer detector part 20 so that a shoulder 22 is defined by the outer part of the detector to engage a surface 23 on the outside of the bow 11. The-neck part 21 extends through and is normally expanded against a hole 24 i the bow to have a close holding fit therewith.

Embedded in the detector part 20 of the member D are a plurality of separate wear resisting means or rings 25"having smooth interior surfaces 26 of less diameter than the: diameter of the bore 27 which constitutes a thread passage through parts 20 and 21.. As shown in Fig. 3 the rings are provided with oppositely extending radial ears 28 which provide additional anchorage for the rings to hold them firmly in position in the detector. Ears 28 are preferablydisposed transversely of the bow 11. The outer end of the detector as shown in the upper part of Fig. 2 is provided with a wear-resisting eye 30 which may be made of porcelain or similar material.

The inner end of the neck 21, the left part as viewed in Fig. 2, has embedded therein a wear-resisting ring which may be similar to the rings 25 except that its thread bore or eye 36 will be smaller than the corresponding parts of the rings 25.

The detector D will normally extend away from the bow and the compartment 12 to assume the indicating position I shown in full lines in Fig. 1, but as the shuttle comes to rest in one or the other of the shuttle blocks in which it slides the detector will be pulled laterally to one or the other of the nonindicating positions It or III shown in dotted, and dot and dash lines, respectively, Fig. 1, depending upon the direction of motion of the shuttle and provided the Weft is intact.

As the lay moves forwardly with the detector in positions II or III the previously mentioned switch or other loom control part will not be moved, but if the detector is in position I it will engage the switch and push it for wardly to effect loom stoppage. Because of the fact that the principal material of which the detector is made is a soft inherently elastic material it can withstand a great number of flexings but will nevertheless resist appreciable deformation in a direction from the eye 30 toward the bow and will thus be able to operate the switch which controls the loom.

As the thread passes through the detector it will engage the rings 25 and be held by them out of contact with the rubber. If wear should result on the rings the detector can be turned angularly with respect to the shuttle as suggested in Fig. 4. It is to be understood that the normal diameter of. the neck 21 is slightly larger than the diameter of the hole 24 into which it fits so that the detector is held frictionally against displacement from the position shown in Fig. 2. An instrument or tool T having a head 40 larger than the eye 36 can be inserted down through the tube until the head engages the inner end of the neck, after which continued motion of the tool will stretch the neck, the shoulder 22 being held by the surface 23 until the neck has some such shape as shown in Fig. 4. When thus stretched the diameter of the neck will be reduced and the detector can be turned a few degrees with respect to the bow of the shuttle to place fresh, unworn internal surfaces of the rings in position to engage the weft. The tool can be removed and the neck will return to its normal position and again grip the bow to holdthe adjusted setting of the detector.

in tie modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the detector Di comprises a soft elastic cylindrical rubber tube 49 having a thread passage 41 extending therethrough. The tube originally has a uniform outside diameter and thickness of wall'so that the thread passage 41 also originally has a uniform diameter. The how 42 of the shuttle corresponding to the'bow 11 has a hole 43 preferably of slightly less diameter than the normal outside diameter of the tube 46. The inner end 44 of the tube it) is compressed sufliciently to be inserted into the hole 53 and is held in the latter in any approved manner, as by a suitable cement. An eyelet 25 having outside diameter somewhat larger than that of the normal inside diameter of the tube is then inserted into the end 44 to force the latter tightly against the sides of the hole 43. The eyelet 45 has a thread passage 46 for the weft drawn from the quill.

The outer or free end of detector D1 is provided with a second eyelet 5% which'has a tubular part 51 somewhat larger in diameter than the normal diameter of bore 41 and is inserted into and cemented to the free end and held therein, as suggested at the right of Fig. 5.

'normal position ext d Within the tube 40 between the eyelets 45 and 50 is located guide means for the thread to keep the latter out of engagement with the soft rubber tube 40. As shown herein four such guides 52 are shown, these guides being preferably of a material which will resist wear, such as porcelain, and having an outer diameter substantially greater than the diameter of bore 41 so that when the guides 52 are inserted into the tube 40 the latter will be distorted as suggested in Fig. 5. Each guide has a perforation 53 for passage of the weft thread, this passage being of small enough size so that when the detector D1 is flexed in a manner suggested in Fig. l the thread will be kept in spaced relation with reference to adjacent parts of the soft rubber tube 40. Although four of the guides 52 are shown in Fig. 5 the modified form of the invention is not limited to this number of thread guides, but it is desirable that a sufficient number of the guides be used so that the weft thread when passing through the detector will never be able to engage the latter.

In both forms the detector when flexed has a smooth continuous surface as distinguished from the separation of the coils of a spring on the outside of the bend when a detector of the spring type is flexed, therefore there is no chance for a warp thread to be entrapped in the detector as is possible with a spring. While guides have been shown in the interior of each of the detectors D and D1 these guides can be omitted when soft yarns are being used.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth a simple but durable form of detector for narrow ware shuttles having a main body made of inherently soft elastic or rubber-like material having a thread passage therethrough for the weft of the shuttle. The detector can be flexed to one side or the other to nonindicating position by the weft, but if not flexed due to defective weft it will assume its normal indiacting position I as the lay advances to operate means for stopping the loom. The preferred form of detector has embedded therein wearresisting means or rings which hold the weft out of direct engagement with the rubber. Also, the neck of the preferred detector is relied upon to hold it firmly on the bow of the shuttle but the neck can be extended as suggested in Fig. 4 to permit angular turning of the detector to present fresh, unworn surfaces on the interior of the rings to the weft. The rings or similar parts 25, and also the guides 52, are separate from each other so that they do not interfere materially with bending of the detector by the weft and the rings or guides are confined within the detector. The rings or guides may be either metallic or ceramic and are much harder than the material of which the main body of the detector is made.

In the modified form of the invention the detector can be made of a piece of ordinary rubber tubing the inner end of which is firmly attached to the bow of the shuttle and the outer end of which may or may not be provided with the eyelet 50. Arranged interiorly of the detector D1 between eyelets 45 and 50 are thread guide means which hold the weft spaced from the soft Walls of the rubber tube 40. The distortion of the tube 40 by the thread guides 52 is relied upon to hold the guides in position, as shown in Fig. 5.

1 shows the fabric l and warp threads or ends E extcndingrforwardly to the fabric with the shuttle passing through the warp shed. The detector D when in its s forwardly in the same general direction as do the arp threads, but when the detector is deflected for instance to the dotted line position ll of *ig. 1 it is trausverseofthe warp threads. Under this condition, however, there is no likelihood that the warp threads can become entangled with the detector, as is possible when the spring detector is used, due to the fact that the detector as set forth herein has a smooth continue-us exterior surface enabling the detector even though deflected to slide over or across any warp threads which it might engage. While this feature is shown in connection with detector D in Fig. l the same relation will exist for detector D1.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. In a narrow ware shuttle having a bow and a weft compartment, a tubular detector member on the bow having a thread passage therethrough communicating with said compartment and normally occupying a position projecting from the bow in a direction away from said compartment, said detector member being made of an inherently soft elastic rubber and being defiectable laterally from said position, anda plurality of spaced separate means within said detector projecting into said passage to prevent a weft thread moving through the passage from engaging the parts of said detector between said spaced separate means.

2. The shuttle set forth in claim 1 wherein said separate means are held in position by engagement with the rubber of which the detector is made.

3. The shuttle set forth in claim 1 wherein said separate means are metallic rings having an outside diameter greater than the inside diameter of the detector and part of the latter due to the elasticity thereof extends partly around the rings to confine them within the detector.

4. In a narrow ware shuttle having a bow with a hole therethrough communicating with a weft compartment in the shuttle, a tubular detector member made of soft elastic material having a neck part thereof normally snugly fitting into said hole in the bow and having a detector part which when in normal position extends from the bow in a direction away from said compartment and has a cross section larger than that of said neck part, said detector part being deflectable laterally from said normal position and having a weft passage therethrough, said neck being extensible in a direction toward said compartment to reduce the diameter thereof to permit angular adjustment of said neck in said hole to the end that said member can be turned relatively to said bow to present different parts of said passage to a thread passing therethrough.

5. The shuttle set forth in claim 4 wherein said member is formed with a shoulder on said detector part to prevent movement of the latter toward said compartment when said neck part is extended in said direction toward said compartment.

6. In a narrow ware shuttle having a bow and a weft compartment, a weft detector comprising a tube of soft elastic rubber having a thread passage therethrough communicating with said compartment, said tube having one end thereof secured to said bow and having the other end thereof projecting from the bow and normally occupying an indicating position but deflectable due to the inherent resilience thereof laterally from said position to a nonindicating position, said detector having external and internal surfaces which are continuous throughout the length of the'tube.

7. In a narrow ware loom having forwardly extending warp threads, a shuttle to pass laterally of the warp threads having a bow on the forward part thereof and formed with weft compartment, a weft detector secured to the bow and normally extending forwardly therefrom in the same general direction as the warp threads extend and having a thread passage therethrough communicating with said compartment, the detector being deflectable from the normal position thereof to a position transverse of the warp threads, and said detector'being made of a soft elastic material having a smooth external surface all of which is continuous and uninterrupted from end to end of the detector when the latter is deflected to a position transverse of the warp threads.

8. The structure set forth in claim 7 wherein the detector is comprised of a soft tube of rubber.

9. The structure set forth in claim 8 wherein the end of the detector secured to said bow has therein a thread guide which expands the rubber tube against the bow.

10. The structure set forth in claim 8 wherein the end of the rubber tube remote from the bow carries a thread guide inserted into the passage in the tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,557,533 Corl June 19, 1951 2,650,624 Waterhouse Sept. 1, 1953 2,650,625 Johnson Sept. 1, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,000,953 France Oct. 17, 1951 

